The Relationship of Space Experience and Human Anthropometric Sizes in Aircraft Seat Pitch

This study explores the relationship between space experience and human anthropometric sizes in different aircraft seat pitch. 294 participants experienced economy class seats in a Boeing 737 with 28 in, 30 in, 32 in and 34 in pitches for 10 min each. The sizes taken were: stature, sitting height, eye height seated, buttock-knee length and popliteal height sitting with shoes. A space experience questionnaire was completed by the 294 participants while sitting in the seat after the 10-min period given to explore the seat. The results show that passengers with a higher popliteal height, a longer buttock-knee depth, a higher eye height sitting and a higher sitting height show more discomfort with reduced pitch then shorter passengers. Eye height did not correlate as good with space perception as was expected.